Meathead
by Garnet-Princess
Summary: Neal admits his feelings for Kel. But when the unexpected happens, what will he do?
1. Chapter 1: Fool

She is the Protector of the Small.

I am only Nealan of Queenscove, her former best friend. Sometimes I am jealous of Yuki - the more time Kel spends with her, the less she has left for me. I was young and foolish, falling for one court lady or another: Veralidaine Sarrasri, Lady Ulline, and even Queen Thayet. Some of the ladies were out of the question – Daine already has Numair, and Thayet has the King. But as I said, I was young and foolish. My cousin Domintan of Masbolle or Dom calls me the Meathead. It suits me very well. The Meathead. The worst of fools. Yes, you have guessed it – I am in love with Keladry of Mindlelan. She will never know it, because I have vowed never to tell her. I cannot, on a good conscience, do so. She is with Dom, and I am with Yuki.

"What wrong, Neal?"

I nearly jump out of my chair in surprise. "Kel! You nearly gave me a heart-attack!" I complained.

"Answer the question, Queenscove," she chided.

"So it's Queenscove now, is it?" I ask, feigning offence. _What's wrong? Everything._ "What gave you the idea that anything was wrong?"

She shrugs. "Well, if you don't want to tell me, it's alright... Want to go to the training yard?"

"Sure. Sword, staff, or dagger?"

She gives me a wicked grin. "Glaive."


	2. Chapter 2: Eardrops

"I think you've broken my ribs, mother," I groaned, lying on the ground and panting heavily.

Her brows go up in amusement. "Shall I go fetch Lady Alanna?"

I was on my feet in an instant. "C'mon Kel, you wouldn't! I'll do anything you want, just don't hand me over to the Dragon!" She chuckled softly, and brushed a stray strand of hair back, tucking it behind her ear. A shiny blue jewel glistened on her earlobe. "When did you get eardrops?" I demanded in astonishment.

She shrugged. "Just today. Like them? They're a present from Dom."

I felt a sharp twinge of jealousy in my chest. "Of course I do," my traitor mouth replied. I wish I'd thought of getting her something like that.

Kel tilted her head to one side and stared at me intently, with something like concern on her face. "I didn't hurt you to badly, did I? I can go get you a healer."

May Mithros strike me where I stand. Something in my voice or expression must have shown through.

"No, it's nothing."


	3. Chapter 3: Guilt

"Neal! Neal! Come quickly!" someone shouted banging on the door.

"What is it, Tobe?" I asked, leaping off my bed.

"It's Lady Yuki, Milord. She fell off her horse during her ride through the forest this morning. A wild boar charged past in front of her gelding and it panicked throwing her off. And if that wasn't enough, the horse tried to run, trampling her into the dirt. Kel sent me to come and get you."

I bit my lip. "She'll be alright, won't she?" I asked shakily.

There was a silence behind the door, then, "I don't know, Milord. Hurry! Your father's healers are out of Corus right now, and she needs healing. If not... she might... might..." He didn't finish, he didn't need to. I pulled on my boots hurriedly and pulled the door open.

"C'mon Tobe, lead the way." He nodded, leading me down the long halls, up and down flights of stairs, and through big heavy iron gates.

"We're almost there, Milord!" he told me, panting.

And then we turned a corner, and there she was. My Yuki. Bloody, bruised, and battered. And I felt like a monster. Just earlier this morning I had resented her presence and now she lay dying. To my utmost horror, I wished that she could die, and I could somehow rest Kel from my cousin Dom, and be with her for the rest of eternity. And there on the other side of Yuki, was Kel. _Dom_'s Kel, I reminded myself. "Do something, Neal!" she wailed, "Don't just stand there!" I've never heard her so distraught. In that moment, all I wanted was to wrap an arm around her and comfort her.


	4. Chapter 4: Someone

The door slammed behind her. "Kel!" I cried, pulling it back open and following her outside. She was sitting a bench, sobbing. I sat down next to her, feeling awkward. "Kel?" I whispered, "I'm sure Yuki will be alright."

To my surprise, she threw her arms around my neck, soaking my shirt with her tears. I didn't know what to do. Somehow, even through her misery, I was feeling rather giddy. After a while, she pulled back, seeming embarrassed. "Sorry," she rasped, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. "I shouldn't have. I know how you must feel right now. Yuki will live through this – she is strong. It'll take more than being stepped on by a horse to make her leave you. Come on, Neal, let's go back inside, shall we?"

"No, I'll just stay right here. You go ahead without me."

"Nealan!" Kel said exasperatedly, "What's come over you lately? Yuki needs you in there. The Neal I once knew would have been tripping over his feet to go help her even when nothing could be done, but you – you'd rather stay away. Don't you care if she dies?"

Her words struck me hard. "I don't want Yuki anymore," I whispered into the night.

"You've been married for no more than a year and already you're tired of her?" she demanded, voice dangerously quiet.

"No, I'm not just tired of her. It's just that there's someone I want more. Someone I've known for a very long time. Someone I've never had the guts to tell..."

"Oh? And who is this mysterious someone?"

"You," I whispered, "You – Keladry of Mindlelan."


	5. Chapter 5: Cut

I am a fool – I've said it already, and I'll say it again. I wouldn't be surprised if cousin Dom changed my nickname from Meathead to Blockhead. From a distance, I heard Kel gasp. "You don't mean that!" she almost yelled, "You _can't_ mean that!"

I let out a half mad chuckle. "But I do. I mean every word of what I just told you."

"And what about Yuki?"

"What about her?"

Having gotten over her initial shock, she was now furious. "What is it with you? You flit from lady to lady from day to day just like when we were pages! You never stay with the same one for long. Some of them were sensible enough to just ignore you, like Daine and Ulline did. Don't think I don't know about your involvement with my sister a while before you met Yuki!" And then she slapped me hard across the cheek and marched off.

My face stung where she had struck, but her words had cut me much deeper. I wanted to run after her, but I knew that she would just yell at me more.


	6. Chapter 6: Drunk

In the morning, Kel seemed back to normal. For some reason, the moment she sat down across me, she handed me a cup of foul-smelling tea. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "What is this, mother?"

She shrugged. "You should know. It's daisy tea. Commonly used on patients that are... well, overly drunk."

"Drunk?" I nearly choked. She thought that I was drunk last night when I admitted my love for her. Well, better drunk than a down-right monster. "Yeah, kind of. I had a cup too many raspberry ale."

She actually laughed, "I thought so. Your face, does it hurt? I'm sorry I did that."

"No, not much. It's alright. I deserved it. I would have done it myself if you hadn't done it first."

"Drink up, Queenscove. Stop stalling. I bet you'd like to visit the infirmary right away. One of your father's healers arrived this morning. Yuki... Well, I'll let you check for yourself. I don't know if you remember much of last night, but she got trampled by a horse."

"Yes, I think I can remember that part."


	7. Chapter 7: Kiss

Clang! Wham! Clang! "Kel, is this supposed to help me calm down?" I demanded, clutching at my thigh. With a lazy flick of her wrist, she brought the tip of her sword up to my throat.

Kel shrugged. "Maybe. Again?" She didn't even give me a chance to answer. I brought my blade up just in time to block a jab to my shoulder. Our swords locked. We found ourselves side by side, trying to pull our own weapons free. Her face was inches away from mine. I don't know what made me do it, but suddenly I leaned in. My lips brushed against hers – soft and sweet. I felt her kiss me back.

Then suddenly, a hand came up hard on my ribs, pushing me backwards. My head hit the hard dirt of the training yard. A face bent over me, hair tickling my neck. "She's not dead, you know!" Kel snarled, "Yuki, she's not dead!"

The Lady Knight turned on her heels and marched away, kicking up dirt. I lay there, panting hard, and coughing. Idiot, I thought to myself, idiot!


	8. Chapter 8: Caught

"What was that all about?" Dom peered down at me, a slight frown creasing his forehead. Just how much of our exchange had he caught? "Why did she punch you?"

I gave a silent thanks up to Mithros that I wasn't a blusher, or my face would have been as read as a tomato. I racked my brains for something to say instead of: I just kissed your girl. "Well, you know... they're so temperamental. One minute you're their best friend, and the next moment, she knocks you flat on you back!"

"Not Keladry," Dom insisted, "She's not like other girls."

"Well um... girls are girls, right?"

Dom gave me a funny glance. Was he getting suspicious?


	9. Chapter 9: Talk

**Hi! I'm back after... 10 whole months. I'm really really sorry, but... bleh, I can't just blame everything on writer's block, can I? Lol. Well, question for you. Should Neal and Kel get together? And if yes, how? Would you hate me if I killed off Yuki or Dom? Plz leave a review :D ... if I have any reader's left after my 10 month vacation... well, here it is... enjoy!**

"Let's talk." I slowly lifted my head from the paperwork. Sure enough, it was Kel – Yamani lump face and all… not a very good, and that was putting things mildly. Normally if it had been a choice between talking with Kel and writing reports, there would have been no competition what-so-ever, but today… Paperwork wins infinite to 0.

"Oh, hello," I squeaked, staring down at the unfinished report longingly. Note to self: never ever face an angry Keladry of Mindelan.

Her fists clenched, then unclenched. And then she reached forward, and I cowered away with my arms held high, mouth open to scream – "Neal?" One second, then two; hesitantly, I lowered my arms. Oh. She was only pulling up a chair for herself. I wanted to knock my head against my desk. That was twice that I'd made a fool of myself in front of her already, and it wasn't even noon yet. She frowned, but otherwise ignored my moment of panic. "Neal," she repeated, "You do realize what I want to talk about, don't you?"

I nodded. "About this morning."

She bit her lip. "Yes, this morning, but also about something you told me last night… You weren't actually drunk, were you?"

"No."

"So," she whispered, voice trembling a little, "What you said – it was all true?"

"Yes."

"Then, I want… I want to hear you say it again…"

Sure, I was stunned, but suddenly, hope began to flutter in my chest. "I want you, Keladry of Mindelan."

She stood up, knocking her chair over. "Thank you, Neal. That's all I wanted to know." And she left without another word.


End file.
